Google’s massive annual revenues are achieved thanks largely to its advertising network, but did you know the key acquisition the company made to build the network it runs today was only its third-largest acquisition? Did you know that YouTube, the biggest video network on the planet and the second most trafficked website in the world, was only Google’s fourth most expensive deal? It has a long history of spending huge sums of money on big forward-looking bets. Some of those bets pay off in a huge way, obviously, while others never really end up panning out. Let’s take a look back at the 7 acquisitions made by Alphabet Inc. in 2015.

Either way, the year of 2015 went down as one for the M&A annals as companies agree to merge at a breakneck pace, encouraged by increased boardroom confidence, cheap debt, pressure to become more efficient in a slow-growth economy and a desire to keep up with consolidating rivals. Over the years, Google has not only paid billions to get what it wants, but it also sought out cheap deals. Some of those deals have ended up being core tools for the company. For an example, don't forget to take a loot at these 6 best cheap acquisitions made by Google.